


A.C. Pines

by Peanut_Butter_Wizard



Series: A.C. Pines [2]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/M, Gen, Grunkle Ford Is A Jerk, Grunkle Stan Needs A Hug, Missing Wife, dad!stan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-06 11:06:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14055600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peanut_Butter_Wizard/pseuds/Peanut_Butter_Wizard
Summary: Stan Pines wasn't dealt an easy hand in life. His brothers trapped in another dimension, and he's spent years trying to save him.  The one bright spot he had after that incident, his wife, dissappeared, leaving Stan to take care of their daughter by himself. And, just like her mother, Alex isn't quite what she seems...





	1. A World of Responsibility

Stan flipped through the pages of Fords Journal, grumbling to himself.  He skimmed through the codes; after almost thirteen years he could read everything written like it was normal English.  He rubbed his eyes under his glasses.  He was just plain _tired._ Stan leaned forward, thumping his head on the old physics textbook he had open.

 

He felt his eyes start to drift close.  Stan had grown used to using the desk as a bed.  It really wasn’t that bad…

 

A staticky crackle and a shrill whine caused Stan to jerk up and out of his doze.  The walky-talky on the desk gave another crackle before a whining cry started coming out of it.  Stan glanced at the alarm clock on the desk.  12:42.  _Ughh…_

 

Stan trudged up the stairs and to his bedroom.  He could hear the crying through the door, louder now.  Even though the rooms occupant was already awake, Stan was as quiet as possible opening the door.  He made his way over to the crib by the foot of his bed in the dark.

 

“Hey little lady.”  Stan scooped the crying infant up, holding her close to his chest.  “You’re up past your bedtime, ya know that?”  He started bouncing gently, rocking back and forth, patting the little girl softly on the back.  “Heh.  But it’s past my bedtime too, isn’t it?”

 

The six-and-a-half month old wailed in Stan’s ear.  “Yeah, yeah, I hear ya.  Those teeth are a bi-beast comin’ in, aren’t they? Where’d yer teething ring go?”  Stan shifted the baby into one arm, and patted around in the crib.  Stan’s hand bumped against the walky-talky he had jury-rigged into a baby monitor, and he clicked it off.  He blindly searched some more, but all her could find was the baby blanket.

 

“Sorry small fry, I can’t find it.  But maybe…”  Stan headed over to his nightstand and rummaged around for a moment.  His hand closed around a cold metal object.  “Here ya go.  How does this work?”  Stan brought the knuckle duster up to the baby.  It was yanked out of his hand, and the crying drifted down into upset whimpering. “There!  Not exactly orthodox, but hey, whatever works, right kiddo?”

 

The baby girl didn’t answer, not that Stan was expecting her to.  She gnawed on his knuckle duster intently, and Stan chuckled a little.  “Hey, what did that thing ever do to you, huh?  Yer a little fighter, just like yer old man.”  Stan still couldn’t believe it.  Forty-two and the father of a six-month old.  _Single_ father, but still, a father none the less.  And his daughter was the most perfect little girl he had ever seen.

 

Stan looked down to see his little girl yawning, and saw her grip on the knuckle duster slacken.  Stan gently pulled it away, setting it on the nightstand.  He held his finger out to the sleepy baby, and she wrapped her tiny hand around it.  A tiny, beautiful hand with six perfect fingers.

 

Tears pricked the corners of Stan’s eyes.  Memories of another six-fingered someone came to his mind, not all of them good ones.  “I hope the world treats you better than it treated him.” He whispered to the dozing baby in his arms.  Stan couldn’t bear to put her down just yet, and he wasn’t going to get anything done on that portal tonight.  He sat on his own bed and gently leaned back.  Stan rolled onto his side gently setting his baby girl down on the mattress next to him.

 

Stan smiled at his sleeping daughter, and whispered to her softly before drifting off to sleep himself “‘Night Alex.”

 


	2. Family Man

Stan trudged out of the basement, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he closed the vending machine door.  It was close to five thirty in the morning, and the walkie-talkie in his hand was giving off random bursts of static.  Again.  He stumbled over the baby-gate at the bottom of the stairs, biting back a loud swear.  At the top of the stairs, behind another baby-gate, a tiny toddler, almost four, sat with her back to him, poking another walkie-talkie repeatedly.  

 

As Stan came to the top of the stairs, the little girl turned to look at him with big brown eyes.  Her hair stuck out in every direction, thick brown curls that made her head look like a birds nest.

 

“Hi Daddy.”  The toddler, Alex, said, pulling herself upright on pudgy little legs.  

 

Stan easily scooped her up, snatching the walkie-talkie from her.  “What do you think you’re doin’ little lady?”  Stan carried his daughter down the stairs and over the baby gate.  Alex wrapped her tiny arms around Stan’s neck.  “Yer supposed ta wait for me in your room when ya wake up.”  Stan chided gently.  He had no idea how Alex was getting around the baby-lock he had on the door in her room, but the little stinker was getting to that age where she was getting into everything.  Stan yawned “And yer not supposed to be awake before seven at least.”

 

“Want food Daddy.”  Alex said simply.  She started to pull on the tassel on the back of Stan’s fez, making the hat sit crookedly on Stan’s head. 

 

“Hmm, is that why ya decided to wake yer old man up at the crack of dawn?  Food?”  Stan set Alex down in her highchair, and she frowned at him as he buckled her in.

 

“Yes.”  She pouted.  “Want ‘cakes.“

 

“Ya want some Stancakes?”  Stan started pulling out all of things he needed to make Alex’s favorite breakfast.  “I think I can manage that.”

 

“With chips!”  Alex squeaked.

 

Stan chuckled.  “Chocolate chip Stancakes.  Yer a demanding little thing, aren’tcha sweetie?”

 

“Chips an’ ‘cakes!”  Alex said, before giving a large yawn.

 

“Hey, if I’m not allowed ta sleep, you ain’t either small fry.”  Stan walked over to where Alex sat, and blew a raspberry on her cheek.  His little girl giggled and pushed against his face with a tiny six-fingered hand.

 

“Scratchy face Daddy!”  She shrieked.  When Stan pulled back, Alex was scowling up at him.  “Scratchy face.”

 

Stan laughed, “Okay, okay, I need a shave.  No need to look so grumpy.”  Alex pouted, saying nothing, so Stan went back to making breakfast.  A few minutes later, he was sawing a Stancake into tiny little pieces on a plastic plate, and sliding it over to Alex before tucking into his own plate.  “Hey  Little Sixer, d’ya remember what day it is today?”

 

Alex, who had quickly abandoned her small fork in favor of using her hands to feed herself, looked at Stan with chocolate all over her face and fingers and said “No.”

 

“It’s yer first day of preschool!  Doesn’t that sound fun?”  Stan tried to sound excited.  He knew that it was time for Alex to start going to school; she was old enough to go, and she was already a really smart kid, could count to twelve and everything.  But Stan didn’t want to let her go.  He remembered his own childhood, the one he had shared with another smart six-fingered kid, and more specifically, he remembered the bullying and the taunting.  It went so far back that Stan couldn’t even remember when it had started, when it had become the two of them against the world.  He didn’t want that for Alex.

 

The little girl shrugged, putting more of her Stancake in her mouth.  The family of two finished their breakfast, and Stan tried to wipe the chocolate off of Alex, but she squirmed so much that Stan decided to take her and give her a bath instead.  Stan ended up half soaked and with bubbles in his hair, but the two of them were both clean by the end.

 

After Stan had dressed both his young daughter and himself,  he sat in his armchair, Alex curled up in his lap, and Stan put on a TV show for Alex to watch while Stan checked the time repeatedly, waiting for it to be time for them to head to the preschool.  In his lap, Alex giggled at the colorful cartoon on the TV.  Not one of those so-called ‘educational’ kids shows that the government made to brainwash kids, no sir, not for his daughter.  Some weird show with colorful talking animals and no plot that Stan could discern, but Alex liked it, so Stan suffered through it.

 

After a few episodes that had Stan grinding his teeth in annoyance at the sugary-sweet show, it was time to go.  Stan bundled Alex into the car, buckling her into her car seat, and giving her a quick peck on the forehead.  He adjusted the headband that was slipping off of her head; it was the only thing keeping her wild hair in place.  As Stan drove, Alex sang along with the music on the radio, loud and off-key and without any idea what the actual words to the song were.  Stan chuckled at her antics, but a small pit of sadness grew in his gut.  He was gonna miss having Alex around every hour of the day.  Sure, she could be a bit of an unholy terror at times, but she was _his_ unholy terror.  But school would be good for

her, and it was required by law for her to go.  _Besides, maybe she’ll make some friends!_ Stan thought, trying to be optimistic for once.

 

Far too soon, Stan pulled into the elementary school parking lot.  He scooped Alex out of her seat and carried her through the school, following the other parents with preschoolers.  The classroom was chaotic, colorful, and loud, more of a glorified day-care than actual school.  It was giving Stan a headache just looking at it.  Most of the people in the room were Alex’s age, but there were a few parents saying goodbye to their kids.  A young teacher came over to Stan, with a genuine smile on her face.  “Hi sir!  Is this little cutie in my class?”

 

Alex looked past the teacher to where a few kids were playing with blocks.  She twisted, squirming in Stan’s arms.  “Okay, okay.  Down ya go sweetie.”  He knelt, setting Alex on the ground.

 

“Thanks!”  Alex gave him a kiss on the cheek before toddling over to the blocks.  Stan felt a dopey grin grow on his face in spite of himself as he stood up.

 

“Aww, it is so sweet how much your granddaughter adores you!”  The teacher cooed.

Stan felt a twinge of familiar annoyance swell up. He was only _forty-six!_ Sure, he may look a little old to have a four year old daughter, but it wasn’t _that_ far fetched!  “Yeah, my _daughter_ really is a sweetheart, isn’t she?”

 

The teacher looked slightly shocked and a little embarrassed, her mouth forming a little ‘o’.  Stan brushed past her and headed over to where Alex was building with plastic blocks.  He knelt by her and wrapped an arm around her.  “Hey Sixer, I’ll be back in a couple of hours, okay?”

 

Alex, focused intently on her blocks, gave Stan a nod and a distracted grunt.  Stan blew another raspberry on her cheek to get her attention, and she squealed in his ear.  “Scratchy Daddy!  Scratchy!”

 

“Have fun little lady, I’ll be back soon.”  Stan said, giving his daughter a quick kiss on the forehead.

 

“Okay Daddy.  Love you!”  Alex said before turning back to the blocks.

 

Stan fixed her headband again before standing.  “Heh. Love ya too kiddo.”  He quickly made his way back to the car, struggling with the urge to dart back inside and have Alex start school next year, during kindergarten, instead of right then. _Quit bein’ such a worry-wart Stan.  She’ll be fine._ He thought to himself as he drove home to the Shack.

 

It was too quiet when he got home, but that didn’t last long as Stan opened up shop for the day.  It felt weird not to have Alex riding on his shoulders or in a baby sling or just sitting in his arms as Stan gave the tours.  The knowledge that Stan knew exactly when Alex would be back home was a bitter comfort as Stan though about another six-fingered family member.  For the first time in years, Stan couldn’t wait until it was closing time and all of the tourists were gone.

Alex was quiet when Stan picked her up.  She was quiet the entire drive home, and all during dinner.  It worried Stan.  Alex was _never_ quiet unless she was dead asleep.  Stan tried asking her about her day, about the preschool, about dinner (more Stancakes), but she barely said a word.

_‘What the heck happened?’_ Stan thought as he cleaned the dishes.  He scrubbed the plates hard, and slammed them into the dishwasher even harder.  One plate chipped, and Stan gouged his thumb on the sharp point.  He bit back a curse, and fished a Band-Aid out of the kitchens first-aid kit.  After he had started raising Alex, Stan had bought on for every room in the Shack.  Just in case.

 

“Are you okay Daddy?”  Alex finally spoke, startling Stan.  He whirled to face her and saw Alex looking at him with a concerned frown.

 

Sore thumb forgotten, Stan rushed over and scooped his daughter up into his arms.  “Am I okay?  What about you?”  Stan carried Alex into the TV room and sat down in his armchair.  Alex snuggled into Stan, curling up in his lap.  “What happened at school today Little Sixer?  Did someone say somethin’?”  

 

Alex looked down at her lap, and her little hands were held in tight fists.  She was silent for a moment, before she looked up at Stan with big watery eyes.  “Dad?  Why am I diff-er-ent?”  She sounded out the last word carefully.

 

Stan’s stomach dropped and his heart leapt into his throat.  _Why?!  She’s just a baby!  Just a sweet little girl, she doesn’t deserve this!_ He took a shuddering breath, steeling himself.  Stan gently cupped Alex’s chin in his hand.  “Who said you were different sweetie?”  His voice was calm, but rage was bubbling just underneath the surface.  He doubted that Alex would have a name, but that wouldn’t stop Stan from trying to track down whoever it was that told _his daughter_ that she was different and giving whoever it was a piece of his mind.

 

“A lady.”  Alex muttered.  Stan’s mind briefly flashed to the perky young teacher.  “A kid was tryin’ ta break my castle.  The lady came an told us ta stop,  an she took the blocks away, an then she told the kid ta not fight with me, cause I’m diff-er-ent, an then she took him away, an then you picked me up.”  Alex wrapped her hands around Stan’s fingers.  “Why am I diff-er-ent?” 

 

Stan saw the tears welling up in his daughters eyes, and his heart broke.  He wrapped his arms around her, tucking Alex against his chest.  “Yer not different sweetie, not at all.”  Stan spoke into her hair, rubbing gentle circles into he back.  “Yer perfect, alright?  And anyone who say’s different is a chump, got it?”

 

Alex reached up and wrapped her arms around Stan’s neck.  “Thanks Daddy.”  She kissed him on the nose, and Stan chuckled.  She looked happier now, and Stan felt jealous of her innocence and the way she was able to just bounce back to being his happy little girl.

 

“I love ya baby girl.”  Stan said, smiling at Alex.  “Hey, how about ya don’t go ta preschool tomorrow?  Ya can wait until next year ta start school, okay?  Are ya good with that?”  The last thing Stan wanted was for some other idiot parent to make Alex feel like something was wrong with her, or worse, for another kid to point something out.  Kids could be cruel, as Stan knew all too well.

 

“Okay Daddy. Can we watch the angel doggy movie?”  Alex asked eagerly, bouncing in Stan’s lap.

 

He laughed, cheered by her sudden energy.  “Okay, we can watch yer weird movie again.”  Stan set Alex in the chair and put in her favorite VCR tape.  As she settled back into Stan’s lap and dozed off less than halfway through the movie, Stan felt a wave of sadness rise up in him.  Alex wasn’t even four years old for another month, and already the world was turning against her.  She was a sweet little baby, _his_ baby, and she didn’t deserve to have the same childhood that he had gotten.

 

Stan placed a soft kiss to the top of Alex’s head, before carrying her over to the stairs.  He hesitated for a moment, debating whether or not he should put Alex in her own room, or take her into his room for the night.  She had just started getting better at staying in her bed all night.  But Stan couldn’t let her go, not just then.  Stan gently slipped into his room, and tried to set Alex down.  

 

Alex squirmed and groaned, grabbing onto Stan’s hand.  Stan gently shushed her.  “Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay Little Sixer.  Go back to sleep.”

 

“You stay.”  Alex said sleepily, clinging to Stan’s hand.  “Wan’ you ta stay.”

 

Stan felt torn between the Portal in the basement and the baby pulling on his arm.  He had to keep working on the Portal, he _had_ to bring his brother home!

 

But he also had a daughter to take care of now.  A daughter who had had a bad day, and needed him.  So Stan lay down next to Alex, and she curled up next to him.  “Love ya Daddy.”  She yawned in Stan’s ear, and started snoring softly.

 

“I love ya too Sixer.”  Stan whispered.


	3. Early Morning Friendships

Alex crept quietly down the stairs, dodging the squeaky places with eight years of practice.  The splintery wood pulled at her socks, which bugged her, but she was grateful for them when she got to the kitchen.  The floor was always cold.  Alex opened one of the lower cabinets and climbed up onto the kitchen counter and grabbed a bowl before hopping down and heading over to the pantry.  

 

Her favorite cereal was kept on the highest shelf; the marshmallows attracted weird little bearded guys with hooves and horns that played loud and annoying music when you spotted them.  Dad called them ‘walking footballs’, and usually drop kicked them off of the porch when they snuck in.  She scampered up the shelves, flipping her tangled curls out of her eyes, and tucked the cereal under her arm, but before she could jump back down, two large hands grabbed her around the waist.

 

“What do ya think yer doing little miss bedhead?”  Her Dad’s rough voice rumbled behind her as she was lifted off of the shelf and placed on his broad shoulder.  “Ya know you aren’t supposed to climb around things in the house Sixer.”  

 

“I was hungry, and you weren’t up yet.”  Alex said, pushing more hair out of her eyes.  “Besides, I’m a good climber Dad.  You know that.”  

 

Dad set her down by the table, and grabbed the milk out of the fridge for her, shaking the carton.  “Yeah, but lets try to keep both feet on the ground, ‘kay kiddo?”  He ruffled her hair, his fingers getting caught in her tangled curls.

 

“Fine.”  Alex poured the cereal into her bowl, and Dad poured the milk in after.  Alex shoveled a large dripping spoonful into her mouth as he put the food away.  “Bu’ I am a goo’ climber’!”

 

“Chew and swallow kiddo.  Don’t wanna choke, do ya?”  Dad said, pouring himself a bowl of grown-up cereal that tasted like cardboard and had raisins in it.  Alex wrinkled her nose at the offensive breakfast food and filled her mouth with another large sugary spoonful.

A knock came from the front door.  Dad grumbled as he stood to answer it.  “Can’t people read the sign?”  Alex picked up her bowl and followed Dad, hiding just behind the stairs to see who was at the door.

 

A boy Alex recognized from the gift shop yesterday stood on the porch, but he was wearing a big Mystery Shack employee t-shirt, and he wasn’t wearing a birthday hat anymore.

“Good morning Mr. Mystery!”  The boy said with a buck-toothed grin.  “I’m ready to start working today!”

 

Alex blinked in confusion.  _Start working?  What is he talking about?_

 

Dad looked just as confused as Alex felt for a moment, before he snapped his fingers and pointed at the kid, “Oh yeah, yer my new handyman.  Uh, I didn’t expect ya to show up today.  But uh, come in, I guess.”

 

Alex snuck back to the kitchen table as fast as she could without spilling her cereal as over the floor.  Some milk sloshed out and onto her sock as she sat back down, which was really gross, but she ignored it.  Dad always said ‘If ya have to eavesdrop, don’t get caught.’ and Alex was really good at not getting caught.

 

Dad came back into the kitchen with the boy following him.  He made Alex think of a duckling following it’s mother, and she stuffed more cereal in her mouth to keep from laughing.

 

Dad rubbed the back of his neck.  “I wasn’t actually planning fer you ta be here today, but I guess since yer here and yer, ah, Abuelita, is gone ta work, we can figure something out.”  He picked his bowl up off of the table and took it to the sink, dumping what was left of his breakfast down the drain.  “I’ll be right back.  You two just, sit here and don’t burn the house down or anything.”  He left the kitchen, heading towards his bedroom, leaving Alex and the strange boy alone.

 

The boy climbed into the chair that Dad had been sitting in.  On instinct, Alex put her hands in her lap, hiding them under the table.  The boy smiled at Alex and held out a hand.  “Hiya!  I’m Soos.  What’s your name?”

 

Alex hesitated before shaking his hand, but he seemed nice enough, so she quickly reached out and gave his hand a shake before turning back to her cereal.  “It’s Alex.”

 

“So is Mr. Mystery your grandpa?  Or like, an old uncle or something?”  Soos asked, swinging his legs back and forth.

 

“Nope.  He’s my Dad.”  Alex was used to that question.  People usually got confused by how old her Dad was.  One time a lady at the store got mad at her and said she was lying until Dad stepped in and told her to shut her yap.

 

Soos’s expression brightened, “Really?  Oh dood, you’ve got the coolest dad ever!”

 

Alex smiled, nodding rapidly.  “I know!  He’s awesome, and really fun too!”  She waved her hand around, gesturing at the museum.  “He’s gonna start teaching me how to make the attractions soon!  As soon as he thinks I’m big enough to use a staple gun, that is.”  Alex put one hand on the tabletop and started stirring her now soggy cereal with the other.

 

“That sounds awesome, dawg!”  Soos cheered, his eyes wide with awe.  Alex felt her smile grow larger.  Soos was really nice, nicer than any of the kids at school had been.  But then, he caught sight of Alex’s hand on the table.  He froze, his eyes widening slightly, and Alex’s heart sunk when she saw him counting her fingers.  “You have six fingers?”

 

Alex shoved her hands in her armpits and looked away.  Things had been going really good!  But now, Soos was going to think she was a weirdo, a loser, a _freak_.  Just like everyone except Dad.  “Y-yeah, I do.  What about it?”  Her words were angry, but warbled a little.

 

“That is so cool!”  Soos sounded amazed.  Alex looked up, gaping at him.  He hadn’t stopped grinning.  In fact, he looked even more excited than he had before.  And he looked sincere, not like the girls at school who pretended they wanted to be her friend because the teachers told them to be nice when they thought Alex wasn’t listening.

 

“You…you really think so?”  Alex asked, still in shock.  Of everything she thought would happen when Soos saw her hands, that was not it.  No one had ever said her hands were…cool.  The sick feeling in Alex’s stomach started to fade.

 

“Yeah dood!  It’s like something out of a TV show, like, when a character has some sort of magical super destiny, sometimes they have a cool birthmark or something.”  Soos gasped excitedly.  “Do you think you’ve got a magical super destiny?”

 

Alex laughed at how excited Soos was.  “I don’t know.  Maybe I do!”  She threw her arms out wide.  “Maybe I’ll be, like, a superhero when I grow up!”

 

“Dood, that would be, like, the coolest thing ever!”  Soos cheered.  

 

Alex smiled, then looked down at her hands.  She hesitated for a moment, before taking a breath and asking a question.  “Hey, Soos?”

 

“Yeah dawg?”

 

“Are we…friends…now?”  She held her breath, bracing herself for the answer.

 

“Yeah dood!  Of course!”  Soos’s answer was immediate and cheerful.

 

Alex smiled.  “Really?  Thank you!”  She reached over and hugged Soos, nearly knocking her cereal over.

 

Soos hugged her back.  “No problem, new best friend!”

 

Alex broke the hug first, grinning widely.  She turned back to her cereal, but she decided against eating it when she saw how mushy it had gotten.

 

“All right short stacks.”  Dad walked back into the kitchen, dressed in his suit and tightening his tie.  “Let’s open for business.”

* * *

 

 

Soos and Alex both cheered, hopping up from the table.  “Soos, this is gonna be _so_ great!  C’mon, I’ll show you the ropes!”  She grabbed his wrist and lead him into the museum, both of them laughing as they went.

Behind them, in the kitchen, neither one of them saw the small, pleased smile on Stan Pines face as he watched the two kids run around excitedly.  It was nice, made him think of happier times, with two other lonely kids.  It may have taken awhile, but Alex finally found a friend.

 


	4. An Unexpected Encounter.

“Dad!”  Alex slid across the linoleum floor of the kitchen in her socks.  With a small ‘oof’ she collided with her father and pulled on his arm.  “I finished my homework!  Can I go for a walk?”  Her headband had slipped crookedly, letting her tangled curls obscure one eye.

Dad cocked an eyebrow down at her.  “Ya got yer knuckle dusters?”

“Yep!”

“Jacket?”

“Yes.”

 “Yer watch?”

_“Yes Dad.”_

“Ankle tracker?”

 _“Daaaad.”_ Alex half-groaned, half-chuckled.  “Can I go now?  _Please?”_

Dad ruffled her hair fondly, then carefully adjusted her headband.  “Alright, ya got half an hour before dinner, Sixer.”

“Thanks Dad!”  Alex cheered and gave him a quick hug before dashing toward the door and pulling her shoes on.

“Just remember ta stick to the paths!”  He stuck his head out of the door and called after his ten-year-old daughter.  “And if it starts to rain come right back!”

“I love you Dad!”

* * *

 

Alex pulled her soaked jacket tighter around her shoulders, but it didn’t do much against the pouring rain or the chilly breeze.  Her glasses had long since been rendered useless by the rain, so she had tucked them away in her pocket.  Her boots squished in the mud, sinking ankles deep and making every step difficult. 

The girl kicked at a rock with a growl and slumped onto a hard stump.  Alex had been wandering through the Gravity Falls woods for as long as she could remember; she knew this place like the back of her hand.  It should be _impossible_ for her to get so lost she had been wandering in the woods for more than an hour.

And yet, here she was.  Soaked to the bone, shivering caked in mud almost to her knees and more lost than she had ever been.  Alex pulled her knees to her chest and screwed her eyes shut.  If she could just calm down and _focus_ then maybe she could figure out where she was and how to get home.  But the wind picked up, blowing down the neck of her shirt and sending a trembling shiver down her spine, and she was getting a headache from clenching her chattering teeth together and she just couldn’t _think!_

Something snuffled at Alex’s bangs.  With a small yelp she jumped, almost toppling off of the stump.  A heavy pair of paws rested on her knees, keeping her off of the ground, but not letting her go anywhere either.   A large fox was staring her down with amber eyes.

Her heart jumped into her throat as the animal leaned in close, sniffing at her face and head inquisitively.  Alex held her upper body as still as possible, while she strained to get her legs out from under the foxes paws.  Her gaze darted around, looking for any way to escape, when something caught her attention.  The fox had four large tails bobbing around behind it.

Alex gasped as the fox-creature licked the side of her face.  The creature nuzzled her neck like an overly affectionate pet, and with a laugh Alex shoved the creature away as best as she could.  “Quit it!”  The creature pulled back and gave a happy-sounding chitter.  It shook and sent droplets of water flying everywhere.  Alex squawked and held a hand up against the spray.  “Hey, what was that for?”

The creature gently bit down on Alex’s forearm-not hard enough to hurt her- and pulled her to her feet.  It tugged her toward the forest for a few feet before letting go and darting ahead.  Alex watched the creature vanish into the bushes with a small, curious scowl.  A moment later the creature reappeared and yipped at her.  If Alex didn’t know any better she’d swear the creature looked annoyed.  It darted behind her and nudged her toward the forest.  “You want me to follow you?”

The creature gave an unmistakable nod before darting off again, this time with Alex hot on its heels, but it wasn’t long before she was falling behind the creature.  It sprung over mud puddles and rocks that grabbed at Alex’s shoes and tried to send her sprawling.  “Wait-wait up, would ya?”  She gasped at the creature.  It looked over its shoulder at her, slowing just long enough to give a taunting look before it shot ahead even faster than before.  “Hey!”

She vaulted over a dead log, and felt anger rise in her.  _‘If it didn’t want me to keep up, why have me follow at all?’_ With a growl Alex caught her second wind and ran even faster, branches whipping past her.  She slowly started to gain ground; with an excited holler Alex fell in step with the creature.  It gave a sharp turn and Alex skidded through the mud to keep up.

A noise up ahead caught Alex’s attention.  A voice, loud and gravely and full of worry, echoing through the forest and calling her name.  _Dad!_  She turned toward the sound of his voice, almost tripping over a tree root.  Alex skidded back onto the path, breaking through the shrubbery around it.  “Dad!”  He was down the path a little bit, a yellow raincoat on instead of his suit coat, and he was so worried Alex could practically _smell_ it on him over the scent of the pine trees and the rain.

 _“Alex?”_ He gaped as Alex sprinted down the path and leapt up toward him.  He drop the flashlight he was holding to catch her.

“Dad, Dad, you’re never gonna guess what I saw!”  Alex pulled at his shirt,  “It was _so cool_ there was-”

“Alex, sweetie, _slow down,_ I can’t understand what yer saying!”  Dad held her out, inspecting her closely for injury.  “What happened?”

Alex tried to blow her wet bangs out of her eyes.  Her hair band must have fallen out somewhere in the woods.  “I kinda…left the path.”  She sheepishly admitted, avoiding looking at her father in the eyes.

“Sixer…”  Dad gave a tired sigh.

“A gnome jumped me and stole my watch!  I ran after him to get it back!”  Alex protested.

“And did ya get it back?”

“…no…”

Dad gave another sigh.  “Well, at least yer okay.  But yer covered in mud!  What did ya do, roll in a puddle?”  He tugged at the sleeve of her jacket.  She had mud caked up to her elbows, splattered on her face and hair, soaked into her pants and her socks.

“No.  But your never gonna guess what I saw!”  Alex chirped, cheering up.  Dad picked up his flashlight and started walking back to the Shack.

“What?  What’d ya see this time?”

“There was this fox out in the woods, but she wasn’t any normal fox!  She had _more than one tail!”_

Dad glanced at Alex with a weird look on his face.  “A fox with extra tails, huh?  That’s pretty cool.  How’d ya know that it was a she?”

“I dunno.  Just looked like a she.”  Alex talked about how the fox had helped her find the path again while they walked.  Dad made Alex take her shoes and socks off on the porch, before sending her to the bathroom for a shower.

* * *

 

Stan crept silently out of Alex’s room.  He had had to read a few chapters out of one of her book to get her to fall asleep after her little ‘adventure’ in the woods.  Alex had been reading things on her own since she was about five, but she still liked listening to him read.  Made him think of back when he was a kid and Ford would read out loud all the time.

He swung by the kitchen to grab a drink of water before heading to bed himself.   He wanted to catch an hour or two of sleep before going down to work on the Portal.  He looked out the window and caught the slightest bit of movement on the edge of the woods.  Stan stuck his head out of the back door and flicked on the porch light.  He caught sight of red-brown fur in the bushes, and a lithe looking fox stepped out and onto the edge of the light.  One, two, three…only four tails; Stan sighed and bit his lip.  She gave a small nod that Stan returned before she darted back into the woods, tails bobbing behind her.

He gave an irritated groan when he got into his room and saw his wet, muddy suit lying where he had left it on the floor.  He bundled up his clothes, giving a little groan when he saw all of the muddy paw prints on his white shirt.  Raising a kid was even messier than being one, if Stan’s memory served correctly.  Then again, he didn’t think his memory had been good in years.

Ah, well, mud washed out.  The way Alex looked at him like he was the greatest thing in the whole damn world was worth anything that he had to do for her.  Stan’s small smile faltered a bit, and he grabbed a picture frame off of his night stand.  It was taken the week after Alex was born; one of the happiest times of his life.  He had shown off his amazing wife and his wonderful daughter to anybody in earshot.  If only those time could have lasted longer…

But, no point dwelling on the past.  That had become Stan’s mantra.  Don’t dwell on lost brothers and missing wives and doomsday machines and motherless girls.  Can’t do anything about that.  All he could do was try and make it through tomorrow.  That was all he could do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definantly not dropping a hint about Alex's mom, no sir.
> 
> EDIT: Should I spill the beans about Alex's mom early, or wait and reveal it naturally?


	5. School isn't the only sucky part about growing up.

Alex was dozing off, eyes shut and face leaning on her hand.  Her head throbbed, and her whole body felt…weird.  She didn’t know what it _was_ exactly, but she had been feeling bad all week, and it had just kept getting worse.  There was a sudden _slam_ making her desk jolt and she sat up straight with a small snort.  She heard everyone else in her geometry class laughing.

“Well, now that Ms. Pines is with us again, we can continue.”  Her teacher, Mrs. Woolernson, picked her text book up off of Alex’s desk and went back to the front of the room, and started explaining whatever it was she was talking about.  Something about triangles.  She glanced over at the clock and held back a groan.  _‘Six more hours until I can go home.’_

Alex trudged through the rest of her school day, barely paying attention to anything.  She would have completely missed Soos waiting for her in his truck if he hadn’t honked at her.

“Hey Dood.  Ya feeling any better?”  Soos asked as she climbed into the shotgun seat.

“Yeah, I am.”  Alex lied.  Soos had picked up on something being off with her earlier in the week, and he’d been bugging her about it the whole time.  It was annoying and nice at the same time.

Soos raised an eyebrow.  He didn’t believe her.  “Ooookay.  Whatever you say Alex.  But let’s get you home quick.”

“You don’t need to-” Alex started to say, but Soos put the pedal to the metal and shot out of the school parking lot.  He drove just as wild as Dad had taught him, blowing through stop signs and red lights, skidding around corners, driving up onto sidewalks.  Blubbs and Durland started chasing them for a couple blocks, but they stopped when Alex threw the emergency-police-chase-donuts out of the window and went after the donuts instead.

They skidded into the Shacks parking lot, and Soos reached over and pulled Alex out of her seat, carrying her in through the back door.

“Soos!  Not again!”  Alex groaned and struggled a little, but Soos held her high up off the ground, and despite her annoyance, she honestly didn’t mind it much.

“Mr. Pines!  I have a secret to tell you that I have been keeping for far too long!”  Soos kicked open the door to Dads office, startling him.  “Alex has been feeling unwell all week, and is more than likely ill!”  Soos held Alex out at arms length, like he was offering her out to him.  “She told me not to tell you, but I cannot do that any longer!”

“Uh…” Dad stared, eyebrow raised.

“I’m _fine.”_ Alex squirmed, kicking her legs weakly and crossing her arms, pouting a little.  “I’m just a little nauseous, and my head kinda hurts.” She muttered.  She didn’t mention the fact her arms and legs were feeling weird, especially her hands and feet.  They were all tingly, a little like pins and needles or something.

“Hmm.”  Dad placed a hand on her forehead.  “Ya do feel a little warm.  Head ta bed Napoleon.  Me and Soos can handle the Shack.”

“But _Daaaad,_ it’s _Friday!_ I don’t wanna stay in bed for the rest of the day!”  Alex whined.

 _“Aaaleeeex.”_ Dad mimicked her whine, lightly poking her nose.  “Too bad squirt.  If ya wanna get better, ya have ta rest.

“Fiiiiiine.”  She growled.  Soos put her down, and she slowly walked toward the stairs.  Then Dad picked her up from behind and hustled her to her room.

Alex tried to read for a little bit, stubbornly resisting resting like Dad and Soos wanted her to.  But after she climbed into bed she could barely keep her eyes open.  _‘Well, maybe a little nap won’t hurt…’_

*****

When Alex woke up, she was feeling better.  Much, much better.  A quick glance at her clock showed that it was late Saturday morning.  “Dang, I slept for awhile.”  She muttered to herself.

She stretched and padded out of her room, heading into the bathroom.  But when she caught sight of herself in the mirror, she froze.  Her ears had…changed.  They were longer and pointed and…furry?  As she watched they flicked up and down.  She reached up to feel them, make sure she wasn’t hallucinating or something, when she saw her hands.  They were different too.  Her nails were more like claws, her arms had red-brown fur running down them, thicker on the back.  She looked down and saw that her legs and feet were the same, clawed and furry.  Her _teeth_ were sharper, she ran her tongue over them and stared in the mirror.  And even her _eyes_ were different, with slit pupils.

Alex gapped, her heart beating fast in her throat.  “What the fu-udge nuggets?”  Her ears flicked back as her breathing started to pick up. _‘What is this? What happened to me? Did I get cursed or something?’_ Panicked thoughts started to run through her head, and she felt destresed tears start to well up in her eyes.  She began to pace, and she tried to ignore the sound of her… _claws_ …clicking on the tile floor.  “O-kay, okay, calm down Alex, there’s gotta be something-you just have to go get Dad…no, can’t let him see me like this.” Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something bobbing behind her in the mirror.  She had a _tail_ poking out of the back of her pajama pants, from the base of her spine, a big _fox tail._

She let out a shocked scream, jumping backwards and tripping into the bathtub, pulling the curtain down on top of her.  She heard two sets of footsteps pounding up the stairs and down the hall.  The bathroom door crashed open, and she heard Dad and Soos calling her name.

“Alex?!”

“Dood!?”

“…over here…”  She whimpered.  The shower curtain was pulled off of her head, and she saw them standing over her.  Soos gaped and took a small step back, whispering a quiet ‘dood’.  Dad just stared at her, a bunch of expressions flashing across his face. “Dad?  I-I don’t know what happened.  I woke-up and I was like-like _this_ and I don’t, I don’t-” she stammered, and felt tears start to run down her cheeks.  Her breathing started to pick up, her chest rising and falling really fast.

“Whoa, whoa, easy sweetie.”  Dad held his hands out, stepping closer to her.  “Calm down, okay?”  He stooped and gently picked her up out of the tub.  He used one rough thumb to wipe the tears off of her cheeks.  “Just breath Alex, okay?  Breath with me.”  He put the toilet seat cover down and sat, holding her close.  She could hear his heart beat in his chest, and feel his breathing.

It took a minute, but Alex started to calm down a bit, breathing in time with Dad.  He gently ran a hand through her hair, and she clung tightly to his shirt.  Slowly, she was able to calm down enough to speak.  “Tha-anks, Dad.”  Something bumped her shoulder lightly from behind.  Soos held a box of tissues out to her.  “And thanks Soos.”  She gently leaned her head against Dads chest, and she felt him place a kiss on the top of her head.

“Uh, this is sweet and all doods, but d’you think we could maybe talk about…this?”  Soos lifted the end of Alex’s…tail…up, and it flicked up and away.  It took Alex a moment to realize that _she_ did that.

“Yeah, we should probably-y’know what, Soos, go kick everyone out and close down the Shack.  We’ll talk about this down in the living room.”  Dad stood, still holding Alex.  She noticed that she had poked holes in her Dads shirt with her…claws.

As soon as Soos gave the all-clear, they headed down.  Dad set her down at the bottom of the stairs, and went into the kitchen while Alex padded into the living room where Soos was waiting perched on the dinosaur skull.  Her footsteps sounded weird on the wood floor, and when she hopped into Dads chair, she looked and saw that there were…pads on the bottom of her feet and toes.  Like, what you would see on an animal’s paws.  They were on her palms and fingers too!

She felt a hand going through the fur on her tail, and she flicked it up and around.  Soos sputtered as she hit him in the face.

They both apologized at the same time.

“My bad dood, I was just kinda curious about-”

“Sorry Soos!  I didn’t mean to-”

They both stopped and glanced away from each other.  Alex wrapped her tail around her knees, and started absentmindedly gnawing on the white fur on the tip.

“So.  You have a tail now.”  Soos said.

“Yep.”

“That’s new.”

“Yep.”

Dad walked in, and scooped Alex up, sitting in his chair and letting her curl up in his lap.  He gently tugged her tail away from her mouth, just like he did when she would chew on her hair.  “Okay, Alex.  And Soos.  This is kind of a…long story, and a little complicated, and, well…” he gave a small sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose under his glasses, “it’s a little hard to talk about.  But, well, it’s about time we talked about yer mom, Alex.”

**Author's Note:**

> You may have noticed a small trend I love: Stan beig a Dad. So have more Dad!Stan!!!


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